Let’s move on to a second Rashi. We find that the Posuk in 1:49 says, (אַךְ אֶת-מַטֵּה לֵוִי לֹא תִפְקֹד, וְאֶת-רֹאשָׁם לֹא תִשָּׂא, בְּתוֹךְ, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל). The Ribbono Shel Olam tells Moshe not to count Sheivet Levi. Why not? Rashi explains (אך את מטה לוי לא תפקד: כדאי הוא לגיון של מלך להיות נמנה לבדו. דבר אחר, צפה הקב"ה שעתידה לעמוד גזירה על כל הנמנין מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה שימותו במדבר, אמר אל יהיו אלו בכלל, לפי שהם שלי, שלא טעו בעגל) in the Davar Achar that all those who were counted were destined to die in the Midbar. So the Ribbono Shel Olam said do not include these in the counting because they (Sheivet Levi) are mine and didn’t sin with the Eigel.
The difficulty with this Rashi is addressed by the Meforshim of Rashi including the Mizrachi and others who say that the sin of the Eigel is not what caused the Yidden to die in the Midbar. The sin of the Meraglim caused the Yidden to die in the Midbar and not the Eigel. If so, why does Rashi say that Levi should not be included because they didn’t sin with the Eigel, Rashi should have said because they didn’t sin by the Miraglim? This is a difficulty in this Rashi.
The standard Teretz that is usually given is that had Klal Yisrael sinned only by the Meraglim they would not have to die in the Midbar. It was because they had sinned at the Eigel and now they once again sinned with the Meraglim that they were punished. The Leviim who did not sin by the Eigel, even had they sinned by the Meraglim nevertheless they were not Chayuv Misah because they didn’t sin by the Eigel as Rashi says. This is the standard Teretz and it is certainly an acceptable Teretz.
The Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Yoel offers a different Pshat. I will be Makdim to that a Kasha. He asks what is the difference if they were all counted together or not. If all 12 Shevatim were counted together and 11 Shevatim sinned and one didn’t why should that Sheivet die in the Midbar? If a complete Sheivet didn’t sin they should be exempt from the Gizaira. Why is being counted together something which is Kovea?
The Satmar Rebbe answers with a beautiful understanding, Divrei Mussar, certainly something appropriate L’mi She’amaro, the Satmar Rebbe. He says Sheivet Levi didn’t sin by the Eigel. Therefore they deserved some sort of protection for the Cheit Hamiraglim. The protection is not to mix with people who do Aveiros, it is to stay separate. A person has to guard himself from coming to close to someone who does Aveiros. Even when a person’s intention is to be Mikareiv the other one, it is usually the Yeitzer Hora that is Mikareiv, which brings a better person down rather than the better person bringing the weaker person up. It is the job of a person to be careful and to keep themselves at arms distance from others (even Yidden) who do Aveiros.
Says the Satmar Rebbe. Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s intention with not counting Levi separately here was to make a Pirud, to make some sort of separation, some divide, a statement that there is Sheivet Levi and there is everyone else. They are not all the same. Sheivet Levi would hopefully live that way. They would see themselves as different. In the Parsha of the Degalim, which is the way the camp was set up in the Midbar, we see that the Leviim were indeed not one of the Shevatim who had the usual setup around the Mishkan, however, the Leviim were at the place of the Mishkan. Again, the idea is to make a Pirud.
He says beautifully. In their mind they didn’t sin at the Eigel, therefore, I don’t want to count them and put them together with everyone else. Because if I do, then when it comes to the sin of the Meraglim they may G-d forbid be pulled along. Therefore, this is the Pirud that was made and that was the Satmar Rebbe’s Shitas Hachaim to warn Yidden and his followers to keep themselves separate and different than others who do Aveiros.
The difficulty with this Rashi is addressed by the Meforshim of Rashi including the Mizrachi and others who say that the sin of the Eigel is not what caused the Yidden to die in the Midbar. The sin of the Meraglim caused the Yidden to die in the Midbar and not the Eigel. If so, why does Rashi say that Levi should not be included because they didn’t sin with the Eigel, Rashi should have said because they didn’t sin by the Miraglim? This is a difficulty in this Rashi.
The standard Teretz that is usually given is that had Klal Yisrael sinned only by the Meraglim they would not have to die in the Midbar. It was because they had sinned at the Eigel and now they once again sinned with the Meraglim that they were punished. The Leviim who did not sin by the Eigel, even had they sinned by the Meraglim nevertheless they were not Chayuv Misah because they didn’t sin by the Eigel as Rashi says. This is the standard Teretz and it is certainly an acceptable Teretz.
The Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Yoel offers a different Pshat. I will be Makdim to that a Kasha. He asks what is the difference if they were all counted together or not. If all 12 Shevatim were counted together and 11 Shevatim sinned and one didn’t why should that Sheivet die in the Midbar? If a complete Sheivet didn’t sin they should be exempt from the Gizaira. Why is being counted together something which is Kovea?
The Satmar Rebbe answers with a beautiful understanding, Divrei Mussar, certainly something appropriate L’mi She’amaro, the Satmar Rebbe. He says Sheivet Levi didn’t sin by the Eigel. Therefore they deserved some sort of protection for the Cheit Hamiraglim. The protection is not to mix with people who do Aveiros, it is to stay separate. A person has to guard himself from coming to close to someone who does Aveiros. Even when a person’s intention is to be Mikareiv the other one, it is usually the Yeitzer Hora that is Mikareiv, which brings a better person down rather than the better person bringing the weaker person up. It is the job of a person to be careful and to keep themselves at arms distance from others (even Yidden) who do Aveiros.
Says the Satmar Rebbe. Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s intention with not counting Levi separately here was to make a Pirud, to make some sort of separation, some divide, a statement that there is Sheivet Levi and there is everyone else. They are not all the same. Sheivet Levi would hopefully live that way. They would see themselves as different. In the Parsha of the Degalim, which is the way the camp was set up in the Midbar, we see that the Leviim were indeed not one of the Shevatim who had the usual setup around the Mishkan, however, the Leviim were at the place of the Mishkan. Again, the idea is to make a Pirud.
He says beautifully. In their mind they didn’t sin at the Eigel, therefore, I don’t want to count them and put them together with everyone else. Because if I do, then when it comes to the sin of the Meraglim they may G-d forbid be pulled along. Therefore, this is the Pirud that was made and that was the Satmar Rebbe’s Shitas Hachaim to warn Yidden and his followers to keep themselves separate and different than others who do Aveiros.
A
beautiful thought and it explains why later we will find in Sefer Yehosha that Sheivet Yehuda stayed to itself,
it was separate many many years, 500 years before the 10 Shevatim and the 2
Shevatim split into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom with the 10
Shevatim going to Galus. Why? We talk about Achdus Yisrael shouldn’t they have
all been together? The answer is that even within the Achdus Yisrael and the
Ahavas Yisrael a person has to be smart enough, wise enough to know that when
it comes to close friendship which happens only with certain people, if you are
smart enough to chose and know who is going to drag you down and who is going
help you rise. This is a very important lesson as well.
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